#9 of 18 sights in Valley of Fire
Sight · Valley of Fire State Park
CCC sandstone cabins make a shaded picnic stop.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Valley of Fire Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Valley of Fire State Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
Historic Cabins: Sandstone Shelters“You're approaching the access road for the Historic Cabins, a short history stop off the main highway.”
Plays as you drive up to Historic Cabins in the Parkwolf Valley of Fire Tour Guide.
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“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Historic Cabins is a small group of low sandstone buildings near Valley of Fire's eastern entrance. They're a shaded day-use picnic stop today, so I'd treat this as a short break rather than plan a long visit around it. Allow about 10–15 minutes to look around if you're not picnicking; stay longer to eat. The parking area is small.
There are shaded picnic tables and public restrooms at the site. Bring food for a picnic; this is a day-use stop, not a café or lodging. Park day use runs from sunrise to sunset.
The Civilian Conservation Corps built the cabins from local Valley of Fire sandstone in the 1930s, for travelers. Valley of Fire became a state park in 1935, so these stone buildings belong to the park's early years.
The rooms are simple and unfurnished; one visitor account describes sandy stone floors and a fireplace. The low stone walls sit right against the red cliff, so include some of that rock behind the roofline if you take a photo. Petroglyphs have been reported on the canyon walls behind the cabins; if you look for them, stay on the established path and leave the panels untouched.
Wildlife
638 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
11 sightingsMojave Desert TortoiseMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
23 sightingsSidewinderMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
18 sightingsBlack-tailed JackrabbitMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
11 sightingsRingtailMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
19 sightingsRed-tailed HawkMost seen around 10 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Valley of Fire. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyThe Cabin Trail0.6 mi · 30 min · At the trailheadWalk to 1930s CCC cabins, then pause at the shaded picnic area.
EasyEastern Petrified Log Trail0.1 mi · 15 min · 0.4 mi awayA quick, easy walk to a protected petrified log
ModerateNatural Arch Trail2.5 mi · 2 hr · 0.7 mi awaySmall window arches high above a sandy canyon wash.
ModerateCharlie's Spring Trail5 mi · 3.5 hr · 0.7 mi awayA sandy wash ends at a small, palm-dotted spring in red rock.
EasyArrowhead Arch Trail0.2 mi · 15 min · 1.1 mi awayA brief rock scramble to a double-opening sandstone arch.
EasyElephant Rock Direct Route0.2 mi · 20 min · 1.3 mi awayA quick desert walk to a sandstone arch shaped like an elephant.
EasyElephant Rock Loop Trail1.2 mi · 45 min · 1.3 mi awayA sandy loop passes Elephant Rock and the red hills beyond.
EasyBalancing Rock Trail0.3 mi · 15 min · 1.8 mi awayA short walk to a sandstone stack with an eyelet.
Picnic area · 0.2 mi awayLone Rock Picnic AreaA big solitary boulder, with petroglyphs tucked across the lot.
Sight · 0.4 mi awayEast Petrified LogA quick stop for wood turned to stone 225 million years ago.
Sight · 0.8 mi awayClark MemorialA roadside cross marks a sobering story from 1915.
Picnic area · 1.2 mi awaySeven SistersA shaded roadside picnic area beneath seven red sandstone towers.
Sight · 1.2 mi awayElephant RockA quick walk to an elephant-shaped sandstone arch.
Entrance station · 1.3 mi awayEast EntranceThe east-side gate, with Elephant Rock just beyond
Sight · 1.8 mi awayMouse's TankA short canyon walk where petroglyphs lead to a rain-fed basin.
Historic marker · 1.8 mi awayNevada’s First State Park Historical MarkerA quick marker stop for the park’s early history and Arrowhead Trail.Parkwolf’s Valley of Fire ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
